D2S bulbs as standard?

JustAnotherSaver

Years ago i had some aftermarket HID bulbs fitted to my car and the whole thing looked like so:
https://carfromjapan.com/article/car-maintenance/installing-hid-headlights-easy-way-diy/


The ballasts, the bulbs etc.
They lasted literally 24 hours before i found out they're no good in reflector lenses (was only after that that i even learned about reflectors and projectors) so i took them out & got rid, going back to standard.






My brother has picked up a car (Civic Type R on a 2004 plate) that has projector lenses, yet the light output was abysmal.

Turns out the previous owner has put H1 bulbs in there, which are for the Civic Type R....but those with reflector lenses. Those with the projectors are to take D2S bulbs as standard.


*If what i've read so far is correct that is*


Now i know these things aren't cheap and i dare say it's not even worth buying cheap (off eBay for example).





Now like i said at the start, i've only ever dealt with HIDs/Xenons, whatever you wish to call them, as an aftermarket part, fitting them where they really shouldn't be fitted. I've never dealt with them on a car that had them factory fitted.
So when you google D2S bulbs and see images like so...
https://www.hids4u.co.uk/d2s-xenon-hid-bulbs/


Which look like the original link but without the ballasts and wiring, i'm wondering which is the correct one to be buying for the car?






And while on the topic of D2S bulbs, with such a price variation, what'd you recommend?
https://www.powerbulbs.com/store/category/xenon-hid-bulbs-d2s-d2r-d1s-d1r/fitting/d2s-85122


Can get a pair on there for £47 for a brand i've never heard of.
Anything with 'blue' just looks attention seeking (sorry if you like that kind of thing but not our bag)
Some Osrams for a little over £70
Some other Osram's for nearly £100 and onwards over £100.

Mercdriver

Do you have headlamp washers as required by law? They are also meant to be self adjusting so that you son't dazzle other road users.

JustAnotherSaver

Mercdriver wrote: »

Do you have headlamp washers as required by law? They are also meant to be self adjusting so that you son't dazzle other road users.

Does that mean that you do or don't have an idea about the bulb question i asked?

wgl2014

Not all projector lenses will be fitted with a HID system.

If there are H1 bulbs fitted it's not HID.

You can often get a decent performance increase by using an updated bulb like Osram nightbreakers in an H1 fitment.

Don't try to just fit a D2s bulb to a standard system, it won't work.

JustAnotherSaver

wgl2014 wrote: »

Not all projector lenses will be fitted with a HID system.

If there are H1 bulbs fitted it's not HID.

You can often get a decent performance increase by using an updated bulb like Osram nightbreakers in an H1 fitment.

Don't try to just fit a D2s bulb to a standard system, it won't work.

Ah right. I thought projectors were meant to have those Xenon/HID type of bulbs.



I remember reading about it, probably nearly 10 years ago now on whatever car forum i was on at the time and people were commenting how fitting standard (halogen?) bulbs in to projectors would just result in you being little better than driving around with no lights on.
Seems to tie in with what he's experiencing with his car now. The output is pretty poor.






Slightly off topic, i have personally spent a small fortune trying these supposed 'extra light' bulbs in my own car. Nightbreakers (of various degrees), the Phillips variety as well.
I've found that they may be better than just going to your local Halfords and picking up some bulbs off the shelf, but not to the point where you're like WOW i can clearly see the difference there. It's just a bit better, like setting your thermostat to 21 degrees instead of 20 degrees at home will make you feel a bit warmer.


Out of all the ones i've tried i've found the best value for money were the Nightbreakers. The Phillips ones i think i spent about £40-£50 on at the time and were 'supposed' to be so much better than the Nightbreakers .... except they weren't.

forgotmyname

Philips extreme bulbs usually on offer at euro, when the offers are on they are usually the same price as the nightbreakers.

Mercdriver

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Does that mean that you do or don't have an idea about the bulb question i asked?

Me being wrong is always a possibility. However I thought that it was a legal requirement to have washers with Xenons. My merc had them, though my Mazda has LED headlights which don't require the washers.

It's quite acceptable for me to be corrected if I am incorrect, no skin off my nose

JustAnotherSaver

Mercdriver wrote: »

Me being wrong is always a possibility. However I thought that it was a legal requirement to have washers with Xenons. My merc had them, though my Mazda has LED headlights which don't require the washers.

It's quite acceptable for me to be corrected if I am incorrect, no skin off my nose

Allow me to explain myself...


I asked a question.

Yours was the first response to my question and there was absolutely zero attempt made in answering the question.
I wasn't going to get in to an off topic discussion at that moment in time as the question had obviously not been answered. Considering that's why i came here then that was #1 priority.

Sure you can argue that it's on topic because your response was connected to HIDs, which i mentioned at the start, BUT it wasn't really anything to do with what i was trying to find out now was it - hence why i made it obvious to all that i was staying on topic.




It happens a lot on here & having been on the board for a while now, i notice that some members do this much more frequently than others

JustAnotherSaver

forgotmyname wrote: »

Philips extreme bulbs usually on offer at euro, when the offers are on they are usually the same price as the nightbreakers.

Be that as it may, i've noticed pretty much no difference whatsoever between them.



Maybe it's my eyes. Could well be.

Maybe something is wrong with my headlights which doesn't allow one to show better than the other. Possibly?
Maybe the superiority can be picked up and proved by some kind of detection machine, who knows.


But like i say, i notice pretty much zero difference. To me they're both as good as each other so it comes down to whichever is cheapest. I currently have Nightbreakers in whereas my wife's car currently has the Extreme bulbs (or vice versa, i can't actually remember).


I personally think all (halogen?) bulbs are pretty poor. Just my personal opinion. I'm not even talking in comparison to HIDs, i just think your standard bulbs aren't that great.

I wonder about LED bulbs. I haven't tried any out but i have my doubts about LED technology right now. Maybe they work great but i suspect they may need their own special unit? I had LED reverse lights one time and have tried the LED number plate light. The reverse light was poor. I use my reverse lights to gauge how close i am to a wall at work & i couldn't do this with LED bulbs, so put the standards back in. Due to how my number plate light is situated the LED bulb was also very poor. That said they work much better in my wifes car where the LED bulbs are situated differently.


And yeah i've gone off topic there but at least the question has now been answered

JustAnotherSaver

I've still not seen it all in daylight myself but he sent me a picture of what is installed:





Looks different to your bog standard H1 bulb, yet it's marked as a H1 bulb?

wgl2014

That's not an H1 bulb, looks like it does have a HID system after all.

Edit: I wonder if someone has fitted a cheap aftermarket HID kit made to replace an H1 bulb hence the odd markings. It could also explain the disappointing light output.